Curving-machine.



W. W. MCCARROLL.

CURVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I9. I9II.

l, l 73,363. Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Wm, g mee/MMM WALKER W. MCGARROLL, OF ARLINGTON, NEW J ERSEY.

CURVING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

Application filed December 19, 1911. Serial No. 666,785.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, WALKER W. MCCAR- ROLL, acitizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Arlington,I-Iudson county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Curving-Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to machines for curving electrotypes orstereotype plates for use on printing machines.

More particularly the invention relates to a curving machine of the typeshown in my Patent Number 974,288 and the object of the invention is toimprove the construction of the machine and to provide means forpreventing stretching of the plate and bulging or cracking while thelcurving is being done.

To this end the invention comprises such features and elements as arehereinafter set forth while reference is had to the accompanyingdrawings in which- Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view of amachine embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine.Fig. 3 is partly an end View and partly a` sectional view of themachine, and Figs. 4 and 5 show a modification.

In the drawings the reference numeral 5 represents the base of themachine made in any suitable form, adapted to be fixed to a. table orthe like, or it may be made movable if desired. At the front the base iscut out as at 6 and at the rear a depression 7 is provided.

8, 8 are guide rails on each side of the base which extend from thefront to near the rear end as shown in Fig. 2. On the said rails on eachside of the machine move the cylinder bearing standards 9, 9, each ofwhich is provided with a groove 10 to fit over the rail as shown in Fig.3. A cylinder 11 is rotatably mounted in the said bearing standards bymeans of a 'cylinder shaft 12 to which the cylinder is secured. At oneend a hand wheel 18 is secured to the shaft 12. Between the cylinder andthe bearing standards the shaft 12 carries gears 14, 14 which mesh withracks 16, 16 secured to the base. rThe racks extend so far to the rearthat the cylinder may be rotated about one half revolution at the least.

17 represents a iieXible steel sheet. The

rear end of this is secured to the base by means of lug bolts 18 whichpass through a wall 19 of the base. Outside the wall the bolts carrysprings 20. The front end of the sheet is secured to the cylinder 11 byscrews 21. A curved front plate stop 22 is interposed between the sheetand the cylinder and is carried to the rear beyond the vertical aXis ofthe cylinder. 28 is a narrow plate which overlaps the front plate stopat 24. By these means the curving of the plate 25 commences right at theedge thereof and denting of the sheet is also prevented.

The plate 25 to be curved is laid on the sheet with its front edgeagainst the plate stop 22. Then by operating the handle 18 the cylinderis rolled to the rear or the left in the drawing by the action of thegears and the racks and the plate is curved around the cylinder in anobvious manner. By so curving the plate no provision is made against thestretching thereof. The stretching of the plate is a source of greatannoyance and trouble, so much more as all plates do not stretch thesame, hence trouble is experienced in locking the plates to the cylinderof the press. To obviate this trouble and to insure that the plate shallnot stretch while it is being curved I have provided a back plate stopdevice and means for operating the same so as to confine the platebetween the two plate stops mentioned while the curving ,takes place,and whereby the stretching becomes impossible.

The back plate stop device comprises the back stop 28 itself which ispivoted at 29 to a stopearrier 30. This latter is operable by means of ascrew 81 which passes through the base wall 19 and which is in threadedengagement with the carrier 80. Thus when the screw is rotated thecarrier and with it the stop 28 are moved back or forth to accommodatethe plate 25 between the two stops 22 and 28. The latter is pivoted toadjust itself to the rear edge of the plate as the edges of the plateare not always parallel. The back stop is operated from a hand wheel 34through the instrumentality of' a shaft 35 carrying a bevel gear 36which meshes with a bevel gear 87 on the screw 31. A brace 38 may beprovided for the carrier to slide on. f

It will be seen that the plate 25 is firmly lodged on the sheet betweenthe two stops.

Hence when the curving takes place the plate cannot stretch as neitherof the stops can move with relation to the sheet.

In case the plate is eXtra long or for other reasons it may bulge orcrack between the stops as the curving operation commences or during thesame. To guard against this I provide a cover plate 40 heavy enough toprevent such bulging or cracking of the plate 25. The plate 40 hasashaved off end 41 so as to be placed as near the cylinder as possibleand is further provided with a rack 42 meshing with a gear 43 on a shaft44. A hand wheel 45 is fast on the latter and by turning the hand wheelthe plate 40 is moved forwardly into the position shown to cover theplate 25. On each side near the front the cover plate carries anadjustable stop 46 in stop blocks 47 having an inclined surface 48.

The aforesaid bearing standards 9 carry each a rear arm 49 whichsupports a buffer member 50, which latter engages the inclined surface4S and is gently raised until the stops 46 abut the arms 49 when theforward movement of the cover plate ceases without jar. Vhen,however,.the plate 25 is to be curved and the cylinder is rotatedleftward or to the rear, the arms 49 push the stops 46 and the coverplate 40 before them whereby the latter is moved out of the Way of thecylinder though all the time covering the uncurved portion of the plate25, and preventing bulging of the latter. During this movement the shaft44 is rotated idly to the left. The shaft 44 is supported in floatingbearings 52 one on each side carried in the fixed bearings 53. Springsas 54 press the bearings 52 and the shaft 44 downward, thus exercising apressure on the cover plate 40. The latter is guided in guide blocks 55as seen in Fig. 8 through which the shaft 44 passes. 56 are adjustablestops to limit the upward movement of the bearings 55. After the plateis curved and the cylinder is again moved forward or to the right, thecover plate remains in its rear position so as to permit the curvedplate to be taken away. A cover plate such as shown may be usedsubstantially .in the same manner to great advantage on, for instance`shaving machines for shaving the plates before they are curved.

In cases where only short plates are to be curved or for other reasonsthe cover plate is not needed, I may construct the back stop device asshown in Figs. 4 and 5 in which the device is placed above the metalsheet 59. In this instance the stop 60 is pivoted at 6l to the carrier62 which is provided with arms 63 guided in the'base at 64, 64. Thecarrier is operated by a screw' 65 having a hand wheel 66. The screwpasses through a block which in this instance is secured to the sheet 59by screws 68. The forward end of the sheet is fastened to the cylinder`in a i be rotated by a hand wheel 74. The'plate 7 5V is placedbetweenthe stops 60 and 69 as before and the cylinder is rotated whereby thesheet is dragged to the right and wrapped around the cylinder carryingthe plate and the back stop with it. On the return stroke the sheet isunwrapped and pushes the back stop away from the cylinder, and to insurethis IV provide a semi circular guide 76 for the cylinder adjustable bya screw 77 in a block 78 of the base.

In a case as in Fig. l where the rear end of the sheet is secured to thebase I may place the back stop device on top of the sheet as shown inFig. 4 where no cover plate is wanted.

It will be seen that I have provided simple and easily operated meansfor curving the plates and at the same time prevent them from stretchingor bulging, whereby a great saving is effected in time and labor andbetter plate work is obtained.

Changes may of course be made in the detailed construction shown anddescribed and I claim all such changes as come within the scope of theinvention and the appended claims.

I claim z- 1. In a machine of the character described the combination ofa cylinder, a sheet, means for positioning a plate to be curved on thesaid sheet, said means comprising a front stop carried by the cylinder,a rear stop, means for operating the latter, means for operating thesaid cylinder and sheet to curve the said plate and a cover plate forpreventing bending of the uncurved portion of the said plate while thelatter is being curved.

2. In a machine of the character described the combination of acylinder, a sheet attached to the same, means for positioning a plate tobe curved on the said sheet, said means comprising a front plate saidcylinder, arear preventing bending of the uncurved portion of the platewhile the latter is being curved and means for operating the said coverplate away from and toward the cylinder.

3. Plate curving means of the character described comprising incombination a support, a cylinder mounted to rotate upon said support, asheet secured to the latter and the said cylinder for curving the platearound the latter, a front plate stop secured to said cylinder betweenthe same and the said sheet, a rear plate stop secured to the saidsupport on top of the said sheet and means for operating the saidcylinder.

4. Plate curving means of the character described comprising incombination a support, a cylinder mounted to rotate upon said support, asheet secured to the latter and the said cylinder for curving the platearound the latter, tension members interposed between the said sheet andthe said support, a front plate stop secured to said cylinder betweenthe same and the said sheet, a rear plate stop secured to the Saidsupport on top of the said sheet and means for operating the saidcylinder.

5. Plate curving means of the character described comprising incombination a sup- Copies of this patent may be obtained for port, acylinder mounted to rotate thereon, a sheet secured with its one end tothe said cylinder and with its other end to the said support and adaptedto lie Hat on the latter, tension members interposed between said sheetand the said support, a front plate stop secured to said cylinder andinterposed between the latter and the said sheet, a rear plate stopmounted on said support and resting on top of the said sheet, means foradjusting said rear stop and means for operating said cylinder.

Signed at New York, N. Y. this 13th day of December, 1911.

WALKER W. MCCARROLL.

Witnesses:

K. G. Ln ARD, IVAN KONIGSBERG.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents,

Washington, D. C.

